Taking the Plunge...

Well today I did it, I got baptized. Tomorrow, during Sacrament meeting, I will be confirmed as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and will be given the gift of the Holy Ghost. I want to thank first off my parents and all my friends who came and all those who have given me support through my investigating; even if you were not able to come you I truly felt you there in spirit.

I haven't wanted to talk too much about getting baptized on the blog here because well, pardon the idiom but I didn't want to count my chickens before they hatched. Things had not been the most solid these past weeks, and I did not want to get my hopes up, until I was actually sure it was going to happen. I have to say it took me until my head was completely underwater to finally realize it was.

As you may or may not know I have been exploring the Church for a time and have been wanting to get baptized for quite awhile. I have to say it's everything I could, and did, hope for. I was not exactly sure what to expect, and in the days coming up to the baptism I was pretty nervous; I did not really know if I would feel different, or I even worried what if it doesn't take? I was (and still am a bit) worried what if I mess up? What if I don't utilize this gift from God and from Jesus to its fullest? And a big factor contributing to my nervousness: What about my parents?

To answer these questions: I do indeed feel different. I cannot describe the feeling any better than feeling 'reborn'. I feel the Spirit so strongly right now. I still feel as if the water is on my skin, acting as a shield protecting my body from the sins of the world. I know some of this may sound cheesy but I do feel different. I feel cleansed, I feel clean, I feel protected, I feel forgiven... It's hard to describe it to other people. So many people have been congratulating me and asking me, "how do you feel?". I feel dumb because all I kept saying was "Thanks, I feel... great". But my lack of skilled oration and flashy diction to describe the new feelings I was experiencing was not due to any lack of emotions; it was because there are no words to describe it (I think I will try to talk a little more about this topic in a later post). Words are physical, they are of this world, but baptism affects our Spirit; it is larger, stronger, more real, and more intense than anything of this world. Fortunately I think the people who asked me knew this already, as they smiled watching my face as I tried to find the words to describe such a feeling, such an experience.

I'm not positive I won't make mistakes. Well to be honest I know I will, it is inevitable. But I will try to limit my mistakes, and I promise I will not and do not take this lightly. This is a second chance for me, and I am not going to let that go to waste. I will utilize this gift to the fullest.

My Parents. I've had some issues with my parents. They have not been the most supportive in my exploration of the Church. But they did something that took so much strength, more than I feel I could muster. They allowed me to get baptized and they came to the ceremony. They didn't 'give up' or anything like that. They simply explained to me how much they loved me and how they will (and do, I might add) support me in the things I do. They may not always like the things, or think they are right, but they will support me. I know my parents love me, I cannot describe how much I owe my parents, and I cannot begin to describe how thankful I am to my parents, and I can never describe just how much I love my parents and my family. I realize we butt heads at times (especially over this matter), but I know it will get better, and I know this is the first step in that lengthy process.

I realize now the nervousness that I felt up to my baptism was the works of Satan. Many warned me of this happening, Satan trying to tighten his grip, grabbing at loose straws while he still had a chance to catch someone before they came unto the Church, unto the Gospel. I just want to warn any investigators of the Church that as you get more and more into the Church, learn of its truth, and learn to love it Satan will try, frantically, to stop you from learning the truth. The closer you come, the more he will try to stop you. So don't give up or give in; pray to Heavenly Father ask what is true and wait for an answer provided by the Holy Spirit. I testify unto you that if you do hold strong and resist Satan the rewards... are too vast and too amazing to describe.

Thank you to all for your love and support.

Hypocrisy: The Foundation for Many Anti-Mormon Arguements

I apologize for not posting for quite a long time... School, spring break, and family have been taking up most of my time. I am still working on "Where Does the Book of Mormon Take Place? - Part II", and it should be ready in a little bit, but in the meantime my mind has been on other subjects.

I was idly sitting in my dormitory a few days ago, talking to a friend. Somehow or another my beliefs were brought up, and I was more than eager to talk a bit about my faith in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her questioning of my beliefs and LDS beliefs, in general, was sincere. She simply wanted to know a bit more about the Church, and, I believe, wanted to figure out why there is such a commotion caused by the simple mentioning of the word “Mormon” (not always bad… just you say you’re Mormon, or basically Mormon…, and people always go “Ooh really?”; some then respond, “Oh I know a Mormon back home”, others, “Really?! Why?”, and some simply say in a somewhat disapproving tone, “Oh…”). I explained some stuff, such as the First Vision, the Golden Plates, modern-day prophets, and such. During the conversation she said something about some of the criticisms and accusations made against the Book of Mormon that I was somewhat surprised by; she said she did not understand how critics (most of which are Christians of other denominations) found things wrong with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when the same (or very similar) arguments could be made against aspects and parts of the Bible. She's completely right. Critics of the LDS Church and the Book of Mormon often use hypocritical arguments when the same arguments could be posed to them. I'm not saying all critics, but many do (I am refering to Christian anti-Mormons, just to clarify).

Critics look at the Book of Mormon as a textbook, searching direly for flaws and mistakes. I understand this approach, I myself began my reading of the Book of Mormon in much the same way, but the Book of Mormon is not a textbook. Granted it is a record of ancient peoples in the Americas, but that is only a very small part of it. The true purpose of the Book of Mormon (like the Bible) is to give people a testament of Jesus Christ, that He is in fact our Lord and Redeemer.

Now this is where the hypocrisy comes into play. Generally speaking, critics of the Book of Mormon pick it apart bit by bit grappling onto whatever they can to "falsify" it. But what do many of these same highly scrutinizing critics do when they look at the Bible? They turn a blind eye to the somewhat "disputed" events in the Bible. Now don't get me wrong I believe the Bible to be true (so long as it is translated correctly; see: Article 8 of the Articles of Faith). My point is simply that critics should be careful in their criticisms of the Book of Mormon and aspects of the Church (such as a sea-voyage across the Pacific c. 600 B.C) when, many times, very similar things occur in the Bible (Noah's ark).

If you recall earlier I said the Book of Mormon is not a textbook, let me explain. Although the Book of Mormon (contrary to what many may say) gives a quite accurate description of Mesoamerican culture (heirarchal political structre and political diffusion, cities rather than nomadic living, temples, smitting of arms, priests/teachers, use of cement, warring factions, etc.) it is a record of religion, a record of Christ, therefore it is meant to tested by the Spirit and confirmed by faith, not by physical evidence. Now, as you may have seen already on my blog, I am very interested in finding evidence for the Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it helps me in building my testimony, but it is not the rock on which my testimony is built. That I received simply through faith; by power of the Holy Ghost.

I was speaking with a couple very good friends of mine recently (who have helped me so much in my investigating the Church, thanks again!), we were talking about different things that have been found only in recent years that actually heavily support the validity of the Book of Mormon and the Church, then one of them posed a very hypothetical question to me, "Let's say some physical evidence came out tomorrow that invalidated the Book of Mormon, whould you still believe it to be true?" I thought about it, and the answer is I would. Now before you go hooting and hollering about me being irrational and brainwashed, let me try to explain how I arrived at my decision. Although the physical evidence is a big part of why I believe the things I do, it is not the core, that is faith. One does not need a single shred of physical evidence to know the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith Jun. was a prophet of God. Secondly, physical evidence is fleeting. Evidence/Fact one day changes the next. A few centuries ago we knew the earth was flat, it was common knowledge. I few months ago we knew eggs were bad for us, now we know they are good for us, or are they bad again? A few years ago, VHS was the best quality movie we could get, a couple years ago we knew DVDs were the best quality we could get, now it's Blue-Ray, what will it be tomorrow? Facts change (as much as that sounds like an oxymoron I believe its somewhat true). Time and technology unearth new evidence all the time, that many times invalidates old facts, new theories will arise, more evidence will come about both in support or and against the Book of Mormon; just the same as it has been for thousands of years with both the Book of Mormon and the Bible. It's not that the evidence is false it's that we may not fully understand what it means, or what it is saying; it's true meaning may only be revealed to us later.

Revelation. That is another reason I love the Church. God has information, scriptures, prophesies that He has yet to reveal, and He can, and has clarified things so that we can understand them in this dispensation. (Sorry for getting sidetracked...)

So I'm not asking you critics to give up your beliefs and just convert (although if you would to here is a link to finding a Church meetinghouse near you and here is a link to request a visit from the Missionaries), I'm just asking you to have some faith... at least try to use the faith you have for the Bible when speculating the Book of Mormon.

Helping the Public Understand the Church

Today I went to newsroom.lds.org, just to check out the latest happenings with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I read an article that stated that Elder M. Russell Ballard and Quentin R. Cook, the two apostles in control of public affairs for the church, recently announced that they would attempt to increase efforts to help the public better understand the Church. I think is is great The world around us are all too often ignorant to the Church's true beliefs and values. Whether they are misinformed, or misguided by anti-Mormon propaganda, or (most commonly) just do not know about the Church because they have never been told. For that last reason is why the Church has got one of the best (and probably the best well-known) missionary programs in the world. But, the problem lies (many times) with where investigators go to seek out information on the Church.

Put yourself in the shoes of a investigator, you do not really know anything about the Church other than its name, but you wish to learn a little more. Now are you going to:
A)Call your local Stake Center and request the Missionaries visit you?
B)Request a free Book of Mormon?
C)Simply 'Google' Mormons?

Well you, probably like most of America, would simply search for 'the Mormon Church' on the internet. I mean, in all honesty, when I first started talking to my friend about the Church, that's what I did... I looked up 'Mormon', and oh what I found... Lucky for me I did not turn away at the first sight of 'bad' information about the Church. I proceeded to look at the other side of that argument. I always looked at what the Mormons had to say to refute this or that claim. And that in itself is one of the biggest problems. When did we go on the defensive? It seems many times that members of the Church are forced onto their heels with attack after attack on the Church. I guess it is less 'how did we go on the defensive?' and more how are we stuck on the defense, it seems, at all times. By the way, the offensive would not be to attack other churches or religions, that would go against D&C 18:20, "Contend against no church, save it be the church of the devil". It would be nice for our beliefs to be known to the world; this is what Elder M. Russell Ballard and Quentin R. Cook are trying to do, inform the populous of the truth. One could argue it a 'preemptive' strike against further attacks, but really I think it Missionary work; spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ; helping those who are misinformed, uninformed, or misguided; preaching God's true message, and teaching what His true Church is. I cannot tell you how refreshing it would be if I was able to simply ask the 'Average Joe' off the street what he knew about the Church and he was able to rattle off as much information (correct information, that's the key) as most Americans can about other institutions, such as the Roman Catholic Church or Protestant churches.

I lightly touched on the internet. As most members know already the internet--for the most part--is the anti-Mormon catapult in which they can heave tons of misinformation and false information onto those who are looking for legitimate answers. Hopefully this will better in the near future and hopefully Elder M. Russell Ballard and Quentin R. Cook's work will help this too.

I have to say something in relation to my early search for information of the Church. When I first started I of course went to Mormon.org but soon started to branch out and started finding confusing and strange information. I was bewildered and was looking for answers. My friends and their families were always helpful and answered my questions, but I could not go to them with every single one of my thousands of questions, although knowing how nice and supportive they are they would have, no doubt, been more than happy to try to help. So fortunately I stumbled upon this site JeffLindsay.com. It helped me so much. The information Jeff Lindsay compiled on his LDS FAQ and Book of Mormon Evidences helped me get that logical confirmation along with the spiritual one I was already (and still am) receiving. I cannot say how thankful to him I am for all of his help.

Oh the Double Standards We Live By...

I was just walking out of my Comparative Politics class today, when I heard two people talking behind me. They were talking about politics; one was a girl and one was a guy. The girl was talking about Obama and how great he was and the guy was somewhat downtrodden because he liked Romney, and he had just dropped out (to my chagrin also...). When the girl heard this she said, "Well good, no way we let a Mormon in the White House." The guy was confused and asked what she meant by that. She responded, "Well I mean he's a different f---ing religion...". When I heard this I turned around and just looked at her and shook my head, I think I also unconsciously gave her the stink-eye (I'm kicking myself because I wish I had said something, but really I liked what the guy was saying and I wanted to hear what was said next). When the male speaker hear this he was slightly taken aback and playing the devil's advocate he said, "well if you think being a Mormon is controversial, what about being the first black person running?" Apparently this was a stunning rhetorical question to the girl and she immediately responded, "How can you say that? You're so racist!"

Oh the double standards we live by... I was dumbfounded, I could not believe she would have the audacity to accuse him of being racist when she herself was being the prejudicial bigot. I mean he never said it was bad for Obama to run, he just was just trying to say it was also, like with Romney and Clinton, a first. I was at a loss for words, I just kept shaking my head. They must have known I was doing so because of her comments. How come it is okay to denounce religion and hate someone for their beliefs, but when someone even mentions skin color (with not an ounce of negative connotation) there is a huge uproar?

The world around us is so ignorant to what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes and what they are. I remember hearing a story told, after Katrina hit in New Orleans a news reporter was interviewing a man who had lost his home and almost everything he owned; he said it has been very difficult but he was so greatful for the help he was getting from volunteers. The news reporter asked what groups the volunteers were from and he said there were two: those from "the Mormons' Church and those from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". I always smile when I hear that but really it is so true. People really have no idea when it comes to the Church, they do not know the Church has over 13 million members, that they have active Missions in 162 countries, that the Book of Mormon has been translated into 105 different languages. This is a global Church, a global Christian Church, not a cult or anything of that nature, it is a legitimate church, loved by millions.

This might be news to the world, but guess what? The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) ARE CHRISTIAN. What?!?! Mormons are Christian, how?!?! I know, I know, it's a shocker, but they believe in the Christ of the Bible. In my opinion "Mormons'" practices and beliefs align most with the early Church, right after Christ's death and resurrection, than do other 'traditional' churches.

It's so sad to think that in today's world, where we pride ourselves on equality and fairness, people can still be so prejudicial to others' beliefs. I am going to quote something and its not scripture, it's from a little thing written a couple hundred years ago called the Bill of Rights, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". I know, I know that's talking about Congress, but I think it's meant just as much to Congress as it is to the individual, we should be accepting of all people not matter race, creed, or religion; none of us should ever "prohibit the free exercise" of religion.